Issues between Port St. Lucie councilman, city manager come to a head

Bowen expressed agitation with code enforcement, and unspecified issues he'd had during his campaign, during a Nov. 15 meeting set up to discuss his concerns.

Bowen became upset that his city office, email and business cards weren't ready on Nov. 20, the day after he took office. "I can say that I understand his displeasure," Oravec wrote. "We should have rolled out the red carpet better. I have to own that."

Bowen didn't want to use email and other forms of digital communications, asking that hard copies of City Council meeting packets be delivered to his home.

Bowen yelled and slammed conference chairs in a Dec. 3 meeting with Oravec and City Attorney Roger Orr, displeased with the pace of city staff's work on proposed legislation concerning synthetic drugs.

Bowen complained of children being allowed in the City Council office, which led to a verbal telephone confrontation with Office Manager Bonnie Cruz that left her in tears. He yelled so loud Cruz had to hold the phone away from her ear and City Councilwoman Michelle Berger could hear him at a distance.

Bowen became frustrated when he thought the city did not send a staff member to a Metropolitan Planning Organization. When Oravec told him he sent an engineering employee, Bowen complained that person did not record her presence on a sign-in sheet or introduce herself to him at the meeting, but admitted he'd left early.

Mayor JoAnn Faiella advised Oravec that Bowen was very upset with him and "that she was scared of him when he is upset."

Bowen was rumored to be calling for a vote of no confidence against Oravec in mid-December, which Bowen denied to the press.

Bowen once "informed me with a sense of pride that he did not speak to former City Manager Don Cooper for three months during his (Bowen's) previous term on council."

PORT ST. LUCIE — Animosity between City Manager Greg Oravec and Ron Bowen began before the councilman officially took office Nov. 19, according to documents Oravec released Monday.

Oravec characterized the second-time councilman as a micromanager who has a temper and is difficult to work with. Bowen characterized Oravec as someone who doesn't want to be questioned and thinks his authority is greater than the City Council's. In a memo to Oravec, Bowen said he shuns one-on-one contact with people "I do not respect or trust" and called Oravec a "coward."

The situation had deteriorated so much that Oravec said the conversation at a Dec. 21 family dinner was not about Christmas, but about "where we would move if daddy lost his job."

The friction apparently started at a Nov. 15 meeting between Oravec, Bowen and City Attorney Roger Orr, according to an undated seven-page document Oravec wrote and titled, "Notes and thoughts concerning interactions with Councilman Ron Bowen."

"It's very unusual and highly unprofessional," Bowen said of Oravec documenting their interactions. "From a personal standpoint, it seems quite bizarre to me. He's building a case against me before I'm even in office. That's sad."

Bowen, who served as District 4 councilman from 1992 to 2000, said he met Oravec in June for an hour and came into office with an open mind and mutual respect.

"I didn't have any preconceived notions," Bowen said. "I came in with experience and full of energy. Nobody was really questioning (Oravec's) authority and his decisions since he took over. I come in and start asking a few questions, and he goes nuclear on me. ... The City Council put him in charge of the city, and I think he thinks he's in control of the city, and that's where our differences are."

Oravec said he was at a loss how to respond to a "long string of inappropriate behavior."

"I understand that an employee cannot discipline an employer," Oravec wrote, "but how can this behavior be consistent with the City Council rules and the form of government that was intended by our charter and, more importantly, our citizens."

Former longtime Mayor Bob Minsky said he's known Bowen for more than 20 years and previously served on the City Council with him, as well as worked with Oravec when he was assistant city manager.

Minsky described Oravec and Bowen as "very intense people" with "very different points of view."

"In politics you have to learn how to get along," Minsky said. "You're supposed to put the mission ahead of personal feelings. The job of getting the city in the right direction is more important than either one of them. And people who don't feel that way shouldn't be elected into office or be working for the city."